Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi scored his first goal of the season as Nottingham Forest defeated Wolves 3-0 at Molineux on Monday evening.
The 27-year-old forward capitalized on a Morgan Gibbs-White assist to score the third goal of the game, sealing an emphatic win that moved Forest to joint second place with Arsenal on the Premier League table.
Awoniyi started the game on the bench as Chris Wood was once again preferred in the starting line-up.
Meanwhile, another Super Eagles player, Ola Aina, was in the starting eleven for Forest.
In the seventh minute, Forest turned defence into attack, with Anthony Elanga breaking forward and squaring the ball to former Wolves' player Morgan Gibbs-White, who slotted it home to give the visitors an early lead.
A minute before half-time, Forest doubled their advantage.
Top scorer Chris Wood finished off a brilliant run and cross from Callum Hudson-Odoi, putting the away side firmly in control.
Although Wolves pushed hard for a goal in the second half, it was Nigeria’s Awoniyi, coming off the bench, who added the third.
His late strike secured a commanding victory for Forest.
Wesley Okoduwa, the son of former Nigeria U23 forward Emmanuel Okoduwa, was an unused substitute for Wolves.
Awoniyi’s performance for Forest against Wolves
Taiwo Awoniyi will be delighted to open his goal account for the season despite limited time on the pitch.
The Nigerian striker played just eight minutes after replacing Chris Wood.
Awoniyi registered one shot on target and one off target while making five touches on the ball.
Although he missed one big chance, he made up for it by getting on the scoresheet.
In duels, he struggled on the ground, losing his only attempted ground duel, but he fared better in the air, winning one of three aerial duels.
It was a decent cameo for the Nigerian forward, who will hope to build on this performance as the season progresses.
